I am a woman living in a cabin without running water in Alaska. Ama.

Why do you play Life on Very Hard difficulty ?

This is the best question of them all.

And I have no answer for it.

You're definitely using and wasting fewer reaources. For existing the way you are you have my thanks.

Edit: apparently Alaska is a ridiculous place to live and while I appreciate OP's ascetisism, it probably is offset by the attendant emmissions necessary to live in a frozen wasteland.

Thanks. I like that we use less water and feel it's better for the world. But also it makes us use a lot of paper towels so I'm worried it cancels out.

What do you do for a living? Also your cabin looks very cozy and comfy. Greetings from Mexico.

I'm a health inspector, but during the pandemic I'm working for the covid task force temporarily.

Hello! And thank you! I love it so much!

Do you find a certain irony in being a health inspector who lives without running water? I mean, clean running water is usually regarded as being the very top priority in public health.

Yup. Sometimes I laugh at how I cook because of no running water. Constantly reusing dishes or just doing a paper towel wipe down of a plate.

But the point of a health inspector is that it doesn't matter in your own home what you do, because you will only make yourself sick.

It matters in restaurants because it affects public health. A single mishandling of food there could make hundreds of people ill.

I used to be a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador (98-00, successful service plus extension). Had no running water. Water if it "ran" was from a pump fed tank that was opened for a bit over an hour daily, which as a result of gravity was sufficient to fill up concrete reservoirs village residents had near their homes, like a giant sink underneath a tap. You were expected to carry your own water from the giant concrete tub / sink in the center of the cluster of homes, back to your own dwelling / hut. I also would use a water filter on my water (it wasn't purified in any way).

Not chlorinated though. That was a project which eventually happened (chlorination math, equipment, training). I was a Water and Sanitation volunteer.

Not having running water is normal if you live somewhere remote where you work in a health field, I guess. It is just something to work on improving.

Most people had no latrines of any kind and after a year of surveys of asking people what they might want to work on or develop as a health objective, latrines seemed to come up a lot. So the Health Ministry there and I and the local village ADESCOs (basically like town councils but at village level) worked with people for some time on composting latrine projects for which the community was over 60 percent financially responsible as I recall. It was a good project because in the end it meant people's waste was not contaminating the community well.

All good things take time.

This is awesome! I've always wanted to do the peace corps and it's on my bucket list.

Thanks for your volunteer work! You are awesome !

Living and working in sub saharan Africa for six years, I have come across a lot of returned peace corps volunteers. Some people really enjoyed their experiences and some super didn't. It depends a lot on the country director of your placement. Some are cool and supportive of project ideas, others are bought into the original idea of peace corps and don't care about projects. The thing in general about peace corps that I tell people is that its mission is not development, it's about giving young Americans experience abroad and cultural understanding. If you're most interested making a difference I steer people towards ngo work. Given your background you might check out global health corps, but there are tons of jobs all over. Check out devex idealist and reliefweb for ideas.

Thanks for the advice! Trying to get into ngo work actually. I'm really interested in environmental conservation and science communications.

How does one go about becoming a health inspector? It's a career path I've been considering due to my previous line of work drying up during the pandemic.

Tbh It wasn't something I ever expected to be. I just kind of needed a job and saw an opening. The only requirement was having a degree in some sort of biology field.

How do you shower/bathe?

At public facilities.

During lockdown I had to bathe in a tote by boiling water on the stove.

What do you mean by bathing in a “tote”? The only meaning of tote (as a noun) I know of is a bag.

Oh I always refer to the bin totes as a tote. Like the plastic storage bins.

Forgive me for going there, but don’t your underwear parts get kinda smelly with infrequent bathing?

For sure. Our clothes get dirty faster. We try to bathe every other day , but a lot of times it's every three days.

Plus we do the old wipe down with baby wipes every once in a while.

So as a woman I have to ask (and because my aunt grew up in a house without running water too, and my grandma had and raised six kids in one, so I'm morbidly curious) what do you do for periods? Is it as simple as changing your pad/tampon? Or do you use a menstrual cup and have to figure out how to sanitize it without running water?

I basically just use tampons the whole time to try and stay clean. And I will take more showers during that week.

Its honestly terrible and I feel gross and dirty during that time.

From one backwoods lady to another, what you need is a peri bottle.

What's that?

Perineal irrigation bottle.

Hospitals give them out to new mothers and I found it life changing, to be honest. It's basically a hand powered bidet.

I didn't know I wanted that . Thanks!

Do you have power from the utility company, or do you use some sort of generator?

We have power from the city since we aren't too far out. So yes a utility company.

Do you hunt for meat or are you close enough to town to buy all your food?

I love close to town so we get most things at the store.

It is expensive though, so even though I personally don't hunt, I do trade homemade jams with friends for some moose and caribou meat.

That’s sounds pretty neat!! It’s like the olden days! How does one determine how much jam to give and how much meat to take in return?

I mostly just ask how much they want. Give them jars of jam, applesauce , and pickles.

I'm much better at canning things than I am hunting. And moose are so big it's easy for people to share.

What does moose taste like? Is it like bison or venison?

It kind of reminds me of steak, but slightly sweeter if that makes any sense.

Oddly enough, I'm currently working on a game about canning/preserving foods. It's cool to see someone on here with some real experience! What's your favorite part of the canning process?

Wow that's so cool!

I just love collecting things the most. The berries or whatever I'm getting to can.

What did you do before moving to Alaska and what made you move there?

I lived in the lower 48 with my family and came up to Alaska to pursue a degree in wildlife biology.

I met my partner here and now I'm staying until she gets her degree.

Do you feel safe living there? My partner and I are thinking about moving up but I’m concerned about people knowing that we’re a couple of females and it might put a target on us.

I feel pretty safe actually. I know the violence rate is high, but I've lived in some pretty shitty neighborhoods and always been ok.

We recently found out one of our neighbors was a sex offender and he just fleed from the police. But nothing ever happened , he was just a recluse.

What’s your biggest challenge living in a cabin outside of water-related stuff?

Biggest challenge so far is that because of the pandemic, I work and live all in the same room.

Definately get a cabin crazy sometimes but that's what reddit is for.

To be fair, I also work and live all in the same room and I'm in the middle of a mid-size city. Yours sounds much more peaceful though.

Really interesting AMA, thanks for posting it!

I never thought about that? How does that work. You have just one room?

We have an odd house. The ground floor is 2 bedrooms/1 bathroom, both bedrooms are rented to housemates and they share that bathroom.

My husband and I live on the top floor, which is one giant room with only our bathroom and closet walled in. Our bed is over in a sort of niche in one corner, and our desks are on the other side of the room, with a TV nook area in front of the desks.

It's like a giant studio apartment (about 900 square feet).

Ahh man I bet that's hard. I think being in the city would be worse now that I think about it.

I can go outside at least and have my space. I will admit though it was easier in the summer. Now that it's cold I don't want to ever leave the house.

HA! That looks like a mansion compared to the van my wife and I live in! :-)

We live in it voluntarily though, and it does have hot running water so there's that...

Oof props to you. I could not do van life.

Honest question, how do you keep warm using the outhouse in the frigid temps? I think that would drive me crazy!

Cute cabin! I wish you and your partner all the best!

We don't.

I usually just run to the outhouse in my robe and hope I can go as quickly as possible.

Its beautiful though being outside and taking a second to enjoy nature while pooping.

I thought that might be the case! It would be peaceful to just enjoy the scenery while doing your business. At least when it’s -30, there aren’t any spiders to worry about out there!

Exactly!

And the summer is worse than winter I think. I'd rather have the cold than a million mosquitos trying to bite me with my pants down.

Oh, I hear you! Mosquitoes and flies are the worst!

Do you ever melt snow to use for things like washing dishes? Do you do laundry at a laundromat?

We never melt snow, it's just not worth the effort. Very little water output.

We do laundry at the laundromat. Its actually the only thing I hate about living without water.

What is your daily vitamin D intake regimen during the long stretches of sunlessness?

Really good question. I actually just found out I am super deficient( I didn't take any last year)

My doctor has me on 10,000 ius daily for the rest of the month. And then 5,000 here on out until spring.

How did you realize you needed to get that checked? Did you exhibit symptoms?

Blood test. She suspected since I told her I never took vit D.

How do you deal with periods? What with an outhouse and no running water? Hope this isn’t a weird question but as a woman with a heavy flow and bad period poops, I always wonder about these things

Oh it's aweful.

I get the same bad periods as you are describing and that time of the month is just annoying and infuriating.

Def a downside to the dry cabin life. I always feel so dirty.

Have you considered birth control to skip most periods? I only have a few a year now with my birth control and it’s amazing. I grew up camping a lot and periods while camping was always the worst so I can’t imagine that basically every month.

I have, but I can't go on it. I have a genetic disease that puts me more at risk if I do.

Do you purchase water or do you collect it somehow? If the latter, how?

There's no way to collect it in the winter.

We have five gallon buckets and fill it up at what's called the "water wagon" ( essentially a big pump in town).

It costs around 5 cents a gallon.

This might be dumb, but couldn’t you scoop up a bucket of snow and let it melt inside to have free and easy (maybe not potable) water?

Yes, it's something we do while winter camping but it's not really feasible.

Since snow is really just expanded water, it would take many buckets of snow melted to just get a cup of water.

What type of internet service do you have?

Its pretty fast, but expensive. 75 a month. There's two internet services to choose from up here.

That's surprising to me (and awesome). I'm in rural northern MI, and pay $100 / mo for 3 mbps internet. No other option except one satellite company that is worthless because of the geography.

Oof that sucks. Yeah everyone always thinks alaska wouldn't have good internet. But it's better here than when I lived rural in Washington.

Lol I live in Alaska and pay $450/month. Not sure where you lived before, but $75/month isn't very expensive, but that might depend on how fast it is.

Yikes thats expensive! I'm guessing you are more out rural?

I'm able to get ACS which is nice, because GCi sucks.

Cable? fiber? DSL?

I'm not the best with tech stuff, so Im not sure.

They just had to install a router for us so I think it's satellite or something? Its probably cable.

Ever have any bear problems?

Take care and stay warm!

Thank you!

No bear problems where I'm at. Sometimes the occasional moose comes by though. And to me, that's scarier.

What makes a moose scarier? I’m mostly a city person so pls forgive the stupid question

No don't apologize for that! And also happy cake day.

Bears usually aren't aggressive unless there's a cub or they need food. Moose are everywhere and if you are out and about and accidentally run into one, they can be really aggressive and charge. And they are so massive, freaks me out even when I see them next to my car.

As a Canadian who has tree planted in remote locations as well as travelling through remote places many times, moose are scary because they are aggressive for all the reasons listed here. Also for context, a mooses back often stands 7ft+ tall and they are known in remote regions for crumpling semi truck cabs into pop cans. They are very powerful animals with very powerful charges.

This omg! Great description.

Also they say to run zigzag in the woods from them or climb a tree if they charge. But I'm out where the trees are so small they will bend over if you try to climb them.

So basically I've accepted if I get charged one day, I'm probably dead.

Do you live without water by choice or is there just no way to get water from the city?

You also said you live close to the city, so why was this location chosen instead of a place with water and power?

To live in the city where I could get water is more than double the rent of what I have now so it's not worth it.

A lot of places can't get water, even close to the city because of permafrost.

How much do you pay in rent?

500 a month

Up until this point this entire thread I was thinking "fuck everything about living with no running water."

But $500/month might have sold me

Yup it was that or 1000+ to have running water. I pay half of what I would pay.

Moving up there for your studies is a ballsy move (in a positive way of course), where will you go when your partner graduates?

It was actually the cheapest school for me to go to. I got instate tuition since my family is from Alaska ( my brother is alaska native). It was cheaper than Wa in state tuition.

We are thinking of moving to Germany actually to get our masters.

German student here🙋‍♂️

Have you decided which University you'd like to study at? I don't want to brag but for all reasons I can definitely recommend you my own University (University of Cologne). We have a wide range of biology masters, are one of the most LGBT friendly Unis (and the City even more so!) in the world and also the biggest university in Germany with lots of international students. If you'd like to have affordable accomodation though, I recommend you and your partner apply for the dorms many semesters before even applying for studying (yes, it's common practice here in many cities and doesn't cost anything to apply for the waitlist). You two can request living in the same appartement in a dorm. There are some very modern two bedroom appartments you might easily be able to share if applying early. There are quite a few things to consider but they'll usually listen to your wish.

Why do I emphasise so much on the dorm stuff? Because I really wish someone had told me all this when I was in high school. Studying in Cologne is cool but living, meh, expensive and there is fierce competition for housing all over the city!

Anyway, good luck with your studies and have a great weekend☀️ (It's Saturday lunch time over there right? Over here, it's night and Sunday started an hour ago)

Wow thanks for the long comment! I will have to look into that!

We haven't chosen anywhere yet because we are trying to find a school that has both our programs.

I'm looking for a science communications masters and she's looking for a electrical engineering renewable energy masters.

Good point on the dorms though, how expensive is it to not live in the dorms?

Allright you're welcome! :) She may want to check out check out the TH Köln/Deutz (the Technical University in Cologne, Deutz is the name of a part of the city where one of their campuses are) as they have most engineering degrees here, renewable energies should defo be among those.

It depends. Dorms are usually 200-300 (good rooms in 2-4 person appartments) per person, though the range goes from 140 (cheap and, well, not luxurious to put it nicely) up to 340 (single appartments with your own kitchen and bathroom and stuff), Euros.

Living prices outside of state owned dorms is much more unpredictable. Close to the uni, you will usually end up paying between 500 and 700 euros for a single room appartment, though I've seen prices going up to 900 euros for (sometimes) nicer places. Two bedroom appartments are somewhere around 700-1300 Euros, the closer to Uni or city center usually more expensive. It should be noted that in rare cases the houseowners of single bedroom appartments are against couples living in those. This is not the case with the single room appartments of the university.

All students at the unis i mentioned get a mandatory subsidised state-wide public transportation ticket, it costs us around 500 Euros a Year. If you are okay with commuting, you can live a bit more affordably in the outskirts of the city and reliably enough commute to the university. But counter in the time it wiuld take to get to a workplace and living inside the city may be worth it.

Thank you so much for this! Its a lot of help and even though it two years out for us, I've been wanting to do research.

Your cabin looks neat, I’m assuming you’ve been there for a few years?

Yes, I've been in Alaska for six and in this cabin for over a year now.

How does your cat cope with the situation and environment?

She loves the cabin since she gets a lot of attention, but she hates the winter.

We adopted her from a bad situation last year ( she is 11) and had never gone outside.

All summer we let her run around in the sun and she loves it. Since winter hit she doesn't understand and keeps trying to go outside and then runs back in when she realizes it's cold. She's definitely been depressed and I feel bad for her.

Now I want to do some research on depression in cats and sunlight and Vitamin D and (boy, does this sound like a rabbit hole.)

Noo I don't even want to do that research. I just want a good life for my cat.

Not to be nosey but I would recommend a sun lamp! For you or the cat! Even just a little heat lamp can do wonders. While I’m not half as far north as you I grew up in south east Asia and I’m living in the capital region in NY right now and the winters are long and cold for me... getting a sun lamp made a world of difference~

Good advice! Thanks!

I've been thinking about getting a happy light too. And we do have a heating pad for the cat which she adores.

Do you ever experience seasonal depression?

Not really, but most people do experience it.

My biggest thing I just to stay one schedule. If I don't, I notice I'll be making dinner at 9 pm or waking up late because theres no way to tell time in the winter or summer.

To add to what OP said, the light up here really messes with you. In the summer, you look at the sun and think, oh it’s probably 5ish. Nope, it’s 10 PM. In the winter it’s pitch black when you leave for work, and pitch black when you drive home, at 4pm.

One of the big problems people here have is vitamin D deficiency. I had an old doctor tell me he doesn’t bother testing vitamin D levels. Unless the pt takes 5000 IU’s, it’s pretty much given they are deficient.

Yup agreed! I also take 5000 ius. Was taking 10,000 for a while.

How much sunlight do you get in the summer? Thanks for the awesome AMA.

Thanks! Glad people are enjoying it, wasn't sure if people would be interested.

We get 24/7 sunlight in the summer.

Obviously you don't have to disclose exactly where you are, but with your sunlight comment does that mean you're pretty far north in Alaska, or does the southern part of the state also get that tons-of-sun in the summer thing? Curious, because some years ago I was in St. Petersburg, Russia for a few weeks in June (I think, maybe early July, my memory is shot) and it would be sunny at like, two in the morning and stuff (definitely was freaking weird for me).

Yes I'm up north. Down south does experience it too but they get more of a twilight in the evening.

Where I'm at, it's all sun all day and night.

What’s wrong with making dinner at 9pm? I do it all the time!

Honestly I hate doing that. Feels off schedule to me.

Hi! I'm in Alaska too (grew up here, moved for school, now I'm back), it will be a while before I can put a decent down payment on a house, but I keep seeing these little dry cabins on just the BEST property. Can I ask what you had to pay and what your mortgage is? Thank you and your place looks gorgeous!

Hi, I don't know if I can answer that question we because I dont own it, I just pay rent to a landlord. 500 a month.

But it seems like dry cabins are the way to go for affordable property with land.

Interesting, and what’s your end goal in wildlife biology since you are pursuing a graduate degree?

I want to get a master's in science communications, maybe work in a non-profit or something like that.

Haven't found exactly what I want to do yet, but I know that I care a lot about conservation.

How do you heat your cabin?

We use a Toyo stove. So with oil.

The city doesn't allow wood stoves anymore because it created too much pollution .

What about a pellet stove are those not allowed either?

I'm not sure actually. They might be allowed.

It seems everyone uses Toyo stoves though, it's kind of the standard.

Is there anything in particular you miss that you can’t get or can’t do where you are now? Like pizza from your favorite pizza shop, laying out in the sun on a beach, stuff like that...

Most amenities here are great compared to the small town ( 1 restaurant) I grew up in Washington.

The one thing I miss sometimes is rain. Its mostly snow or sun here with occasional rain in the summer.

Oh and fresh veggies. Everything up here is expensive and tastes bad.

I’ve heard that about food being expensive. Makes sense, it costs a lot to ship things fast and far.

One more question if you don’t mind - have you ever seen the northern lights where you are? If so, what was it like?

Yes, all the time. Just saw them a week ago actually.

They are so beautiful! They even crackle if they are strong enough.

Can you pay cat tax? Thanks.

Whats cat tax?

They mean that they/we want to see a picture of your cat. :D

Oh! I have one on my profile if you scroll down a couple of posts.

Whats the price for a gallon of milk these days? I have family that lives in Anderson and the last time I was there, like 8 years ago, the prices for everything was insane but a gallon of milk blew my mind.

Do you plan on staying there permanently?

I usually don't buy milk so I'm not sure for where I'm at. I think it's a couple of dollars.

I do travel for work though and at one of the villages I noticed it was 10 dollars a gallon.

No, just here till my partner finishes school. We might move back one day though.

It seems to me like you need to be crafty and resourceful to do what you guys are doing. Do you have any prior experiences in such things? (Camping, etc.)

I'm not sure if you need to be crafty, but we definitely are.

My partner is from a city in Alaska so she knows nothing about camping. My dad was born in Alaska, so even though I'm not from here I spent my childhood backpacking and camping.

I've always loved the outdoors so it's not surprising to my family where I ended up c

Do you ever feel unsafe? I've heard horror stories about lack of policing and concern for assault etc.

Nah I feel pretty safe. I've heard stories too and the stats arent great. Guess I've been lucky.

After moving to Canada -40F isn't tooooo bad if you have the right coat and gear. But that 3 hrs of sunlight would really get to me.

If you don't have running water, how do you deal with showering or taking a bath daily? Or do you do the old west once a month routine? lol

Yeah having good gear really helps.

We take showers at public facilities. But still less often than I'd like. I always feel dirty.

Hello from Texas! I've only ever seen an out house in Mexico and this was years ago when I was a kid. How does it feel to take care if business in the freezing temperature?

We call them " quick pees at the dry cabin"

Basically we go really fast when it's cold. Also it sucks in the winter because poop freezes into a big poop spire that we have to knock over.

have you considered a chamber pot as an interim solution?

No, some people have portable toilets just for night time but I don't want to deal with it, too gross.

What are the phrases spelled out on the refrigerator?

Very innapropriate things like "always lick woman"

Where do you get water most of the time?

We haul water in 5 gallon buckets from town. Its 5 cents a gallon to fill it. Mostly just used with cooking , dishes, and drinking.

Are you on the road system or in Bush country?

On the road system, thank goodness.

My work takes me to the bush and damn I would not want to live in any of those places.

I've heard domestic violence is a huge issue in Alaska. Care to comment?

I've heard the same thing, but haven't experienced it nor do I know anyone who has experienced it. Guess I'm not around those people.

How do you deal with the cold inversion smog? I know it can be pretty bad. I visited the central Alaskan city you’re in a few years ago and just being outside for a few minutes left grit in my mouth and nose from the pollution.

Oh it's aweful. But usually it's so cold I already have some sort of ski mask on my face to stay warm so it helps filter.

But man there is some of the worst pollution here.

Your cabin looks so beautiful and cozy, this is such an interesting way to live. Do you guys read much? It looks like the perfect reading cabin, especially in winter. Wishing you all well in the cold months!

Yes , I love to read! Usually a part of my bedtime routine.

Why do you have electricity from the public utilities, and apparently internet, but not water/sewer?

Permafrost is the reason a lot of places don't have running water.

I live close to town so the internet and electricity is fine.

What are your thoughts on "life in Alaska" programs like Life Below Zero, are they realistic or scripted? Thanks for the great AMA.

Agreed with the below redditor.

They are not accurate whatsoever. Also I've had to work with some producers up here about following the law and they are assholes.

What's the first thing you'll do when you get back to a place with running water?

Well whenever I visit family for any reason. It always feels like a luxury . I take a shower every day and wash my hands all the time. And get to wash my face with warm water at night, it's so amazing.

What kind of health do you inspect?

Restaurants and everything else food related.

How do you like your Salmon prepared?

Honestly I love it baked with mayo spread on it. Makes it all juicy.

But also I just love all seafood no matter the recipe.

How doees it feel to be so cool?

I'm guessing you mean to be cold all the time? Yeah I live in a robe and wool socks.

But winter cuddles are the best here

Thanks for living in Alaska and not in a shanty trailer that looks like it's been slapped together with shipping refuse. Are the mosquitos as bad as I've seen on the tv's?

This is oddly specific.

Yes, they are really bad. I almost always wear a headnet in the summer and long sleeves.

I just imagine a place like yours when I Invision building my own wilderness homestead but most of the shows your see display a lot of trailer like villages? It's my cable bias, sorry!

Oh I mean Alaska has a lot of shitty looking places, especially in the bush.

I kind of lucked out with the cabin. The neighborhood we are in has ones that don't look as nice and are really small.

Question two, room for one more? Kentucky is continuing on it's shit spiral into crazy.

Alaska is also on a shit spiral so I would not reccomend.

What sort of music do you listen to?

Mostly indie: really into summer salt right now and still woozy.

No running water? So how do you do toilet 🚽?

We have an outhouse! Its the last photo posted.

You have a sink but no running water?

Well yeah lol, we gotta be able to wash our dishes and hands somewhere. We just throw a jug on there with a spigot and that's how we wash our hands or get water to cook . The sink drains into a bucket that we dump outside.

What strategies so you have for dealing with the darkness in the winter? I just don't think I could handle that, so it fascinates me when other people can.

Staying on a schedule, eating at normal times, and getting exercise the same time everyday helps me regulate my circadian rhythm without light.

It doesn't bother me much, the darkness.

I find that the 24/7 sunlight is much worse and drives me crazy.

I met someone from Alaska once, several years ago, at a teacher training thing. He said when you left your home everyday, it was like everything was trying to kill you. As in, Alaska was trying to murder you as soon as you crossed the threshold.

To what extent do you think that's true?

Haha no I don't think this is true.

I mean it's cold and everything takes extra time because of it, but I don't feel on danger.

I feel like you would like the game Stardew Valley if you haven't played it before. I also dont know if you play video games?

Yes I've played that game a couple of times!

I don't play games much, but because of the pandemic I've been getting into legend of zelda again. I don't have a tv though so it's not easy to play.

Im really interested in purchasing something like this to use for a month or two at a time. Any idea how I’d go about that?

Hmm not sure since I rent this place.

I'm sure there's lots of places listed online for sale

Get that good Fox water?

Nah not worth the drive

ever had a couple of guys from the turbo team come over and replace your toilet but they replace it with a joke toilet with a small hole thats only for farts, like a fart toilet?

Uhh I don't get this reference.

We don't have a toilet anyways.

where do you poop

In an outhouse. Its basically just a hole in the ground.

oh f that. I have a heated bidet. post pics

Wow I'm so jealous! I would love a bidet!

We did put a foam seat in the outhouse so that our butts would at least not freeze.

Do you two try and hold it to be the second seat so it's pre-warmed 😁😁

Haha no. The foam actually works pretty well.

If I'm really cold though, I do wait long time to go.

Gilll? Gilll Bates?

Gill bates died, but hello!

Edit: mispelling.

Can I get a picture of your cat?

Yes there's one on my profile actually!

Got a new question. Was your cat seriously a mayor of an Alaskan town?

No that's not my cat. I was visiting that cat and recently had a photo I took pop up in my memories. I posted out of missing him .

Edit: my cat is the black one a couple photos down.

Do you melt snow for water? Have a well?

Melting snow isn't felt worth it. A lot of snow is needed for a small amount of water.

We do not have a well. it's hard with permafrost to have these kinds of things. We just haul in water in buckets for dishes and cooking.

I wonder with something like this if you could insulate the central area of the crawl space ect and run the well from inside the home.. before building I guess just for access but I would guess that if you were able to dig past the perma and keep it that way it would be sustainable?

The problem isn't the digging past the permafrost. Its that the permafrost shifts and destroys everything underground. All the cabins are even on stilts to try and keep them from sinking.

Maybe this is answered elsewhere but why would you prioritize Internet over running water?

Its not possible to get running water where I'm at because of permafrost.

What is your heating source? Pellet stove?

Toyo stove!

I've watched documentaries of people who live liek this on purpose because it brings them a sense of peace.
Is that what you are doing, or are you doing it for some other reason?
Do you ever see yourself moving to a more populated area?

I do it because it's cheaper to live like this. But it is peaceful. I feel that I live life more simply out here , aside from internet usage.

Yes, my partner and I plan on moving in a couple of years.

Do you enjoy this lifestyle? I suspect you are paid a nice chunk of cash, but would you prefer to return to a more “normal” lifestyle?

I enjoy it . I live this lifestyle because it's cheaper and I don't have a lot of money. So no I'm not really paid a big chunk of cash or else I'd probably have water.

Why?

Why what?

Why?

Why what?

Odd choice of places to live, I mean to each their own but why/ how did you end up there? Sorry if someone asked already, on my phone...

Oh no worries.

I came up here for school and then met my partner. We are staying here until she finishes school.

Awesome! Its beautiful in nature. I hope you two are enjoying/ making the most of it!

Thanks! Yes we are trying our best, even in the pandemic.

Given that the bulk of humanity lives without running water, how is it that you believe this is anything of note? Because you're a relatively privileged white person who has never had to live in these circumstances before?

Its honestly really eye opening to see how much harder it is to live without running water.

I travel to villages for work where most people also dont have running water. They have the worst covid cases right now too because there's no way to stay clean. And I understand that because when water is limited, you just don't wash your hands as often.

I'm sharing it as an interesting experience and lifestyle for a place that's so cold. Sure I'm priveleged just by being white, but the reason I live in a dry cabin is because I don't have the money to live otherwise.